Suzuki Teams Head to Pomona World Finals, Seeking Last Race Victory
BREA, CA – October 31, 2022 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – With both riders officially eliminated from contention in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Countdown to the Championship, the Vance & Hines/Mission Suzuki team left the NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday seeking a shot at redemption at the NHRA Finals in two weeks.
Again showing she has the fastest Suzuki-powered bike in the Pro Stock Motorcycle field, Angelle Sampey qualified her Suzuki Hayabusa in the number two starting spot with a 6.807-second/198.64 mph run, setting up hopes for a deep run into Sunday eliminations. However, she was unable to convert that strong qualifying performance into round wins after fouling out at the starting line in her first-round matchup against Hector Arana, Jr. The premature end left the three-time champion frustrated and seeking answers to a recent string of starting line woes.
Angelle Sampey (2) with another solid qualifying performance but fell short in round 1 and is looking forward to the Finals in Pomona.
“That was just me anticipating and leaving before I was supposed to. It’s frustrating. I can’t figure out what mental block I have, why I have it, or how to get rid of it,” Sampey said. “I’m climbing a mountain right now, but I know I’m going to get to the top of it, and once I start coming downhill, all hell is going to break loose for everybody else. That’s where I want to get to. I was hoping it would be today, but it wasn’t. I asked my crew chief if he could muster up any bit of faith in me for Pomona. I would appreciate it because I’m not done yet. There’s no better race to win than the last one because you are the race winner for the whole offseason.”
Eddie Krawiec continued his pursuit of a career-milestone 50th NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle win in Las Vegas with a 6.846-second/196.39 mph qualifying effort that placed his Suzuki Hayabusa seventh in the starting order. His 6.892-second/195.03 mph first-round run easily carried him past Chris Bostick (7.250 seconds/158.82 mph), setting up a second-round matchup against Arana. Hoping to get revenge for his teammate, Krawiec simply didn’t have the speed to run down the back-to-back winner at Dallas and Las Vegas, who is showing a strong late-season run of form despite racing a partial season. Krawiec’s 6.904-second/194.77 mph pass fell just short of Arana’s…
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